Date Available

3-31-2025

Year of Publication

2025

Document Type

DNP Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Faculty

Dr. Candice Falls

Committee Member

Dr. Katie Rust

Abstract

Background: Critically ill patients often suffer from pain and anxiety. Music therapy is a safe and effective treatment option. However, most nurses never receive education or training on it, resulting in a lack of awareness of its value and its actual usage in care.

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to increase the number of music therapy referrals to manage pain and anxiety in eligible medicine intensive care unit (MICU) patients via a music therapy protocol that increased nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and skills related to the use of music as an alternative treatment option for pain and anxiety in critically ill adults.

Methods: The project used a one group pre-/post-test design guided by Lewin’s Theory of Planned Change. It took place in a 48-bed MICU at a large teaching hospital. MICU nurses viewed a voiceover PowerPoint that provided education on music therapy. They also received a screening tool to determine patient eligibility to receive music therapy for pain and/or anxiety. Nurses were instructed to enter music therapy referrals for all patients they found to be eligible. A pre-/post-test survey using REDCap was administered to assess changes in perceived knowledge and attitudes among nurses due to viewing the educational PowerPoint and screening tool. To measure nurses’ skills in correctly identifying patients eligible for therapy, two music therapists used a checklist to verify referrals were entered only for patients meeting screening tool criteria. Data from this checklist was also used to assess if the music therapy protocol led to improved pain and anxiety ratings among MICU patients. A retrospective chart review was conducted to determine the number of referrals entered for patient pain and/or anxiety before and after protocol implementation. This assessed music therapy utilization within the MICU.

Results: The responses of 34 nurses were matched between the pre- and post-intervention surveys. Overall self-rated music therapy knowledge (ppp<0.001).

Conclusion: Results from this study suggest a nurse-driven music therapy protocol can increase ICU nurses’ music therapy knowledge, attitudes, and skills and thereby increase music therapy referrals for patient pain and anxiety, leading to improved patient outcomes. Future researchers should examine if these findings are sustained long-term and consistent in other critical care environments. Additionally, healthcare organizations should consider incorporating music therapy education and training into staff competencies and develop policies for integrating this therapy into standard ICU care.

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